Heskey had been tipped for a return to the fold and the national coach claimed he was under consideration. But the Blues star was left deflated by Eriksson's apparent obsession with 6ft 7in Crouch, as an alternative to his smaller, more mobile strikers.

Heskey said he was chuffed that so many people had been arguing his case for inclusion, even if to no avail.

"It's nice what people have been saying," he admitted. "And I want to be in the squad, I want to be on that plane to Germany.

"I think I'm more focused now. I'm working on different things, whether it be my fitness, my control on the ball, mentally - all sorts of stuff. I'm committed to getting back in the squad and playing in the finals."

Spurs' Jermain Defoe recently said that Heskey represented his ideal front partner. Heskey commented: "Ask most of them, especially the smaller strikers, I think they'd prefer to play with a bigger one. We take a lot of the beatings for them! I don't mind that, you know."

"Definitely, I think I can bring something different," he continued. "Look at the clubs, you've got Mido with Jermain, Michael Owen who plays with Alan Shearer and you've got Wayne Rooney who, although he can play in any position, goes just off a bigger player in Ruud van Nistelrooy. All of these players have a different kind of striker alongside them."